What Comes Next?
by neumann315
Summary: Horrific attacks in the wild lands of Vale warrant investigation. Just what is happening, and what does it have to do with Team RWBY?


**1**

The house sits on the outskirts of Vale, surrounded on all sides by towering trees and thick shrubbery. A slim dirt trail illuminated only by spatters of moonlight, leads to the front door. It is the only indication anyone has been anywhere near this house in decades. The dilapidated, single story structure barely manages to stand on its own, the wood walls splintered and the paint peeling.

"How did I get the short straw on this one?" Qrow wonders aloud. He approaches the house, walking cautiously on the small pathway to the decrepit front door. He places his hand against the splintered wood and lightly pushes against it. It protests but finally relents, leading to the inky black interior of the house.

The sickly sweet smell of decay greets him with an almost physical force, causing him to gag. He steps back out into the fresh night air and retches loudly onto the trail. Grasping his scroll, he activates the flashlight function. A pale beam of light cuts into the darkness, barely holding the shadows around him at bay. The doorway stands before him, an inky portal, and he steels himself before re-entering the structure.

The blueish-white beam reveals the horrific source of the smell. Three naked, corpses lie in the center of the room, arranged from tallest to shortest. The two tallest bodies, probably the mother and father, were in the advanced stages of decay. The smallest though, a raven haired girl, looks as if she has been placed recently. The floor around the bodies is spattered with dried blood. Qrow advances and kneels over the bodies. The two oldest have had every kind of violation visited upon them. Disemboweled, limbs torn off, their torsos covered in slashes. Next to the male corpse is a battered scroll, the device he used to signal for help. "Fuck….."Qrow mumbles in disgust. He shakes his head. "What a waste."

Qrow turns his attention to the girls' body. Upon closer inspection she appears totally untouched, her skin translucent under the pale beam from his scroll. It would almost be forgivable to believe she was asleep. "Sorry kiddo." Qrow whispers sadly. He stands erect looks around the room, trying to find any clue as to what happened in this place. His light catches something on the wall. A single word is painted on it, the ink a deep brownish red. "RAHN." Qrow approaches the word and places his palm against it. The words aren't just written on the wall, but etched into the wood, as if some great clawed beast scratched them in place.

Qrow takes a picture of the bodies and the word, then shoots a quick message to Ozpin.

" _Another hunter KIA. 2 x Civilians KIA as well, Assuming it's his family, probably wife and child. The hunter and the adult female were killed in a pattern consistent with past attacks. What I am assuming is the daughter though…..her corpse is anomalous. Additionally, there is strange writing on the wall, nothing I recognize. Will conduct one more sweep of the site and then head back for official debrief."_

He closes the scroll and clicks the flashlight back on. As he turns to leave there is a thundering crack. He whirls around, already unsheathing his blade. The girls' skull has split in half. Her corpse squishes loudly and convulses. Her neck stretches wide, a fist sized mass in her throat wriggling violently. As suddenly as it began thrashing, the body stills. The distention in the girls' neck is still visible. Qrow cautiously approaches, taking measured steps. The mass wriggles up her throat and a long, thick black tentacle explodes from the split in her skull, spraying Qrow with a wet coating of gore. Her entire body lurches off the floor momentarily from the force of its birth. Qrow jumps back, yelling in surprise and wiping the viscera from his face. The tip of the wriggling mass ends in a barbed chitin blade. The appendage begins lashing around wildly, tearing through the wooden structure like so much tissue paper. Behind the tentacle, the girls' body flops around limply as it thrashes about.

Qrow brings his blade up to block a frenzied swing from the creature. The blow sends him flying through a rotten wall and into the night. He quickly recovers and searches for his scroll, with no luck. Qrow can hear the beast crashing around inside the house, no doubt trying to find him. There is another loud crack followed by wet slapping sounds. The chaotic noises cease.

He pulls a plastic vial out of his pocket, red dust. He grabs a stick, tears a sleeve off his shirt, wrapping it around the branch. The red dust ignites quickly, catching the shirt on fire and casting a flickering orange glow that beats back the night. A low bellowing roar erupts from inside the house, chilling Qrow to the core. He can hear wood splinter, as if crushed by a great weight. Slow plodding thumps draw near as the monstrosity approaches in the endless darkness.

His right hand holds his sword out in front of him, His left grips the torch. _"No backup and no idea what I'm up against. These are bad odds."_ Qrow thinks to himself. _"I could run…..but then whatever that thing is will be able to kill more"_ At the periphery of the light created by the flames, he can see two saucer sized eyes, towering over him. He swallows nervously and prepares to makes his stand against the monster.

 ** **Thanks for reading guys, I'm wanting this story to slowly unfold. Not trying to rush major plots points. It was always my intention for this to be a very graphic story, hopefully this chapter nailed that.****

 ** **Feel free to leave any criticisms or comments****

 ** **V/R****

 ** **Neumann****


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